Tubular body for heating or the like and method of making the same



G. E. BLAKE June 23, 1931.

TUBULAR BODY FOR HEATING OR THE LIKE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed March 21. 1929 Patented June 23, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE. E. BLAKE, or EAST ,A'URoRA, NEW roan, assrenoa 'To TonsYTn mm.

GOODS COMPANY, YORK INC, OF EAST -AURORA, YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW TUBULAR Bony non HEATING on. THE LIKE AND METHOD or MAKING- THE sum Application filed March 21,1929. Serial No. 348,798,

This invention relates to a heater and more particularly to an automobile exhaust heater in which the heat from the exhaust gases of the automobile engine is utilized for heating the interior of the car, although the invention can also be employed in other analogous uses.

. this character which can The principal object of this invention is to provide a heater of this character which will adequately and efiiciently heat the interior of the car and which is adjustable to fit stalled.

' A .further purpose toprovide such a heater which can be installed quickly and readily and in which the adjustments required to fit the heater to different cars can beperformed quickly and require no special Sklll.

Another aimisto provide a heater which when installed on the car will not be afiec'ted by the vibration to which automobile achessories are necessarily subjected and will operate to provide an abundant supply of hotair when needed.

Still further objects are to provide such a heater which is simple and inexpensive in construction and in which there is no danger of exhaust gases being conducted to the in terior of ,the car by the stream ofheated air.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of aheater embodying the present invention installedon the exhaust pipe of an automobile and showing the arrangement of the cold air inlet and the hot air outlet.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the heater casing or body, the inlet and outlet connections having been removed.

Figs. 3 and 4 are transverse sections taken on the correspondingly numbered lines in Fig.2.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section similar to Fig. 4 showing a slightly modified form of the invention.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts in each of the figures of the drawings.

In its general organization this invention comprises a heater body com osed of two half sections of a piece of exible metal tubing, a separable head at each end of the tubingythe end heads being adapted to be fitted to an exhaust pipe, means for holding the several members together and fixed relation to the exhaust pipe and cold air inlet and warm air outlet connections with the separable .end head's.

In Fig. 1 is illustrated an automobile motor having the usual exhaust manifold 10 and exhaust pipe 11 leading from this manifold, the exhaust pipebeing shown as having a curve where the heater is applied.

I The body of the heater is composed of two sections 12 and 13 of flexible metal tubing. This tubing is fabricated in the usual manner from. a strip of metal which is helically wound, the edges of the several turnsof the strip being interlocked so that a substantial: ly'tight tube is provided and at the same time the tube is flexible, the interlocking being so effected as to permit the strips to slide relatively to one another and permit the tube to be flexed in any desired dlrection;

After being so fabricated the flexible metal tube is cut lengthwise so as to form the two sections 12 and 13, and the ed es of one or both of the sections may be o set, as indi cated at 14 .in Figs. 4 and 5 so that upon joining thesefsections a tight joint is effected between them and the sections are revented from collapsing. In addition to o seting the edges of the flexible tube sections 12 and 13 ha f round angle pieces 15 can be welded or otherwise suitabl secured to the channel section, the edges 0 the male section engaging the ends of these half round angle pieces To the opposite ends of the flexible metal tube sections an inlet head 16 and an outlet head 17 are secured, the inlet head being prowhen the two sections are brought together.

[ill

25 sen vided wth an inlet 18 and the outlet heed being provided with an outlet 19. lnssinuch as these heads are alike in construction end mounting, the following description oi one will be deemed to apply to both.

Each head is composed of two semi-cylindricel sections 20 and 21 which are made of sheet metal or the like, and to the end oi each section 20 end. 21 an end Wall 22' is socured, each end wall 22 hsving a semi-circu ler opening l he end walls 22 are mode of sheet metal of low tensile strength and are formed to provide an inwardly projecting semi-circular flange 24- whieh is welded to the corresponding head section 20 or 21. lhe two sections 20 and 21 together with the end walls 22 are adeptedto be joined together and for this purpose the opposing edges of each section 20 and 21 are onset as indicated at 25 in Fig. 3 end. are provided with corrugations 26 which limit the inward movement of the two sections. By this means one section, the section 20 is fitted within the other section, the comngation 2h forming a stop for limiting the inward movement. lhe end well 22 of the female section 21 is also preferohly formed to provide inwardly oilsct portions 27 set its ends which are adopted to engoge the inncr sides of the ends of the end well of the male section. 20 and provide loch-tight joint this place. I

The inlet or ontlct or it con he see red to either of the sections Q0 or ill any sorta-hle manner and he shown epen' vided in the section 28 end oi lot or outlet is and welded to inside of the section.

lln installing the h described two flexible nietol. tithe sec ions 12 lit brought together sronnd the port the enhcnst pipe which the heater is to he opphed end the end hoods thenhronght together so so to enshroce the ends of the sections 12 end 13 of t iienihle tithe. The sevoral sections ore then. clamped together lay o plurality oi straps 28, the ends ot which. are adopted be drawn together by bolts 29. Preterahly three oi such 28 ore pro vided, one embracing each end head end the other embracing the two sections of the tier;- ihlo tnhe ot the oer of the heater.

To permit oi the heads being titted to on heust ills-S oi? different d -men-2r, provision is for permitting sein cincnler pieces or strips to he reedily chipped or torn. out of eoch of the end heed sections its exhaust pipe opening therehg this openmg end adapting the icons to I enlist-net pipes. For this purpose esch of the one; wells 2% of each end hen-d section is oi motel of low tensile strength and provided on its inner and outer sides with a plnrolity of grooves or indentetins til which are arr ranged concentrically with the exhaust pipe o ening 23 as best shown in Figs. 3, t end ii.

.e corresponding indentations on opposite sides-oi each of the end walls 22 are equi di tent from the exhaust npe opening and therefore form thin wehs connecting relatively thick heads 31. The beads 31 of the corresponding walls 22 ere registered with. each other, as best shown in Fig. 3 so that upon turning out or removing successive bee-(ls of both sections thecircular shape of the exhaust opening will be maintained. In manufacturing the healer, the diameter or exhenst ipe opening provided in the walls 22 is ma e suficlently small to fit the smallest size oi exhaust ipe for which it is designed, and a table suc es the following is preferehly provided to aid the owner of the car or mechanic in. determining how many semi circular bends should be removed to fit any enhenst pipe:

For 1% erhenst pipe we present hole;

or 1% enhnust pipe remove 1 ring;

For 1% exhaust pipe remove 2 rings;

For 1% exhaust pipe remove 8 rings;

For 25 crhnust pipe remove t rings;

The beads 31 are readily torn from the 252, by gripping the rings successively with a oirot pliers and tearing the web connecting it to the next heed.

The cold air inlet for the inlet connection for the heater as described and the hot air outlet meg be of any suitable form and as shown, the cold air inlet connection coinprises a. fienihle metal tube 32 which is con-- nccted to the cold air inlet 18 in any suitable manner and at its outer end is connected to a channel-shaped sir collector 33. This collector 33 is preferably mounted adjacent the ra lintor oi the automobile so that a part of the passing air is forced into the cold air inlet tnhe 32 end into the heater. In it similar manner e flexible mete-ll hot air outlet condnit 34 is secured to the outlet 19 and at its other end is connected to e register 35 which discharges the hot air into the car body. It is apparent that the air pessing through the heater is brought into intimate contact with the exhaust pipe which the heater-surrounds end is therefore heated before being discharged through the register 35.

By employing two sections of flexible motel tuloe, as described, in combination with seporohle end heads it is obvious that the present heater con be applied to exhaust pipes witho t disconnecting or dismantling the exhaust pipe in any way, the several sections merely brought together and clomped in piece. it is also apparent that by employing sections composed of flexible nietol tubing that the'heater casing can be bent or turned into any desired form and that therefore the heater casing can he applied as eesil I to curves in the exhaust pipe as indicats I in i ELS well as straight portions thereof. Also by ofisetting the edges of the till two flexible metal tube sections 12 and 13 a tight joint is obtained between these sections and this offsetting also tends to prevent the strips composing the flexible metal tube sections from coming apart.-

This heater is also inexpensive and simple to construct and install, it can be quickly applied to all makes of cars and when applied ciency due to the severe vibration'to which it is subjected,

I claim as my invention:

a 1. A method of making the body part of a heater which comprises cutting a piece of flexible metal tubing longitudinally. from end to end to form'two sections and forming the edges of-said Sections to provide an interfitting joint between the same.

2. A method of making flexible tubing which comprises forming a flexible tube, slitting said tube longitudinally from end to end on at least one side and forming at least one of the longitudinal edges of said tube at said slit to provide an interfit ting longitudinal joint between said longitudinal edges formed by said slitting.

3. A method of making flexible tubing which comprises rolling at least one strip of metal into helical form and interlocking the adjacent edges of the convolutions of said strip, slitting: the tube formed thereby at least on one side and from one end of said tube to the other and forming at least one of the longitudinaledges of said tube at said slit to provide an ,interfitting longitudinal joint between th-elongitudinal edges.

4. A method of making flexible metal tubing which comprises rolling at least one strip of metal into helical form, interlocking the adjacent edges of the convolutions of said strip, longitudinally slitting the'tube formed thereby at one side and from one end of said tube to the other'and forming the opposite side of the tube so that.the edges of said tube atsaid slit can be readily brought toward and fromone another.

' A method of making flexible metal tubing which comprises rolling at least one strip of metal into helical form, interlocking the adjacent edges of the convolutions of said strip, longitudinally slittingthe tube formed thereby at one side and from one end of said tube to the other, forming the opposite. side of the tube so that theQedges of said tube at said slit can be readily brought toward and the said edges overlap one another.

7. An article of manufacture comprising a helically wound strip havin the edges of j its convolutions interlocked to orm a flexible tubular body, said tubular body being slit end to end on at least one side whereby said 5 tube can be opened up torec'eive an object and at least one of the longitudinal edges of said tube at said slit being offset to provide an interfit.ting engagement with the other longitudinal edge of said tube at said slit.

8. An article of manufacture: comprising a helically wound strip having the edges of its convolutions interlocked to form a flexible tubular body, said tubular body being.

slit end to end on'one side and the side of said tube opposite said slit being formed so that said tube can-be readily opened up to receive an object.

9. An article of manufacture comprising a helically wound strip having the edges of its convolutions interlocked to form a flexiits convolutions interlocked to forma flexible tubular body, said body being slit lengthwise end to end to provide two independent sections, and the longitudinal edges of said slits being offset whereby the edges of said sections overlap one another.

11. An article of manufacture comprising a helically wound strip having the edges of its convolutions interlocked to form aflexible tubular body, said body being slit lengthwise end to end to provide two independent sections, and the longitudinal edges of said slits being oflset whereby the edges of said sections overlap one another, and means for holdmg said sections together.

In testimony whereof I hereby afiix my signature.

GEORGE E. BLAKE.

. from one another, and oflsetting the longil tudinal edges of said .tube at said slit so that they overlap one another.

6. A methodof making flexible metal tub-v ing which comprises rolling at least ane strip of inetal into helical form, interlocking the adjacent edges of'the convolutions of said I strip, slitting the tube lengthwise to form two independent sections and oflsetting the 

